Hitachi and Demansys to demo CrystEna Energy Storage System for grid frequency regulation and capacity services

30 March 2014

Hitachi America, Ltd., a wholly owned subsidiary of Hitachi, Ltd. and Demansys Energy LLC reached an agreement to perform a demonstration project utilizing Hitachi’s “CrystEna” (Crystal+Energy) compact 1 MW container-type energy storage system in the market for frequency regulation and capacity services, and that site installation work will soon commence.

The capacity services market is an auction through which grid operators secure a sufficient supply of capacity several years into the future from supply and demand-side resources.

The demonstration, which is designed to confirm the benefits of using the CrystEna energy storage system for grid stabilization, will run for two years, beginning in June 2014.

Recently, regulators, grid operators, utilities, and research organizations have projected the need for additional grid storage systems to help ensure reliable power system operation as an increasing percentage of intermittent energy sources, such as wind and photovoltaic power generation, are brought on-line. Throughout the US, numerous new entrants, including storage resources, are demonstrating their ability to provide frequency regulation and capacity services.

Hitachi’s CrystEna was developed with an emphasis on long operating life, providing significant commercial value. It uses Hitachi’s control systems and power conditioning systems (PCS), and lithium-ion batteries from Hitachi Chemical. Its enhanced economics are due to both its compact design and system performance improvements.

Demansys is participating in frequency regulation and reserves programs throughout the Northeastern US, using its Grid Daemon platform to supply grid operators with services involving real-time control and management of energy storage and behind-the-meter energy assets. It also has the ability to provide capacity services and plans to do so from the New Jersey-based demonstration project.

Demansys will be responsible for overall coordination of the new demonstration project. The demonstration involves the installation of a Hitachi CrystEna system in New Jersey, not far from Philadelphia. To verify the system’s effectiveness for grid stabilization, the demonstration will collect data over a two-year period, including a capacity pilot project and frequency regulation operation with independent grid operator PJM. The demonstration will be used by Hitachi to further evaluate its energy storage systems and to verify the systems’ reliability and effectiveness with a view to future commercialization.

Hitachi’s electric power transmission and distribution systems business is a core part of its power systems business. It is seeking to expand its solution business by combining IT and power electronics technology for control systems and other balance of plant. Hitachi anticipates applications for CrystEna at a wide range of facilities in the future, and is actively working to expand sales of all of its energy storage systems.

Demansys’ Grid Daemon has been used in a diverse range of commercial and industrial applications. Since October 2012, the company has participated in a pilot program in the New England frequency regulation market that controls consumer loads in order to regulate frequency without the use of generators.

Comments

This article does not mention the method of energy storage or the amount of energy stored in the module. The need for such modules clearly demands that wind turbines and other variable energy sources restate their kWh costs and their carbon footprint so that investors and customers and the public are not deceived. The cost of these units must be added to the published costs of intermittent energy sources. Wind turbines must also only be allowed to advertise the average yearly energy expected rather than the peak even in promotional literature and news controlled by the company. A wind turbine cannot for example supply the energy for X number of houses because the answer is zero with no wind. ..HG..

Effective lower cost e-energy storage and grid frequency regulation will no longer be a challenge in a few years. All technologies required are being developed and many will be installed in many places as early as 2020.

We don't live in a static world.
Naysayers use perceptions relating to circumstance that definitely will change with the times.
The public servants, emerging technology thinkers , academics, movers and shakers are listening to the critics and seem to have a good handle on reality.

I don't think it an unreasonable leap of faith to believe in the possibilities but of course we shouldn't become? complacent to the task at hand or the risks in non action.

For lots of solar and wind, its 15 minutes of storage at the same wattage as the nameplate watt.

So 1 nameplate watt of wind needs about 1 watt of battery storage for 1/4 of an hour.

Commercial battery solutions run about $750 per kilowatt-hour right now, with demo ones like the above running around $250 per kilowatt hour.

So you need 1/4 a watt-hour per nameplate watt if it can do 4C, and yes voltage regulation batteries are designed to do that. $0.06 per watt for the demo stuff. Prices continue to drop for batteries. As a levelized cost, that would be about .24 cents per kilowatt hour.

To put that in perspective with regards to nuclear in the USA, if nuclear were required to reprocess their spent fuel just to reduce the volume of it, it would cost them 0.3 cents per kilowatt-hour. If nuclear were required to reprocess spent fuel to plutonium MOX and use it, 1.1 cents per kilowatt-hour.

Utility PV solar runs $2 per watt installed, so this would increase that 3%.